I am planning a trip through GSMNP in late January. Here is my planned food list. While home I eat very cleanly (fruit, vegetables, meat, etc), on the trail junk food works very well for me. In the winter I need food that can be eaten frozen without breaking my teeth. Suggestions are welcome, I will not carry fewer calories though. The fig newtons and hermit cookies are the lowest calorie to ounce items but they are delicious, and that is important too. The pepperoni is my only luxury item. I wouldn't mind going a little higher fat if I can find a few different foods. I've used up to 35% fat on winter trips in the past with no problems. I can't eat straight chocolate and candy bars anymore because they make my teeth hurt.

Lately I've been a fan of gold instant mashed taters, garlic and herb chicken in a pouch, craisins, gravy powder, some "spicy just veggies" freeze dried veggies, garlic powder, black pepper and some olive oil. I do it freezer bag style--everything but the meat is mixed before I hit the trail. Subway has good olive oil in ketchup type packs (they only use it for their catered giant subs, but see if they'll give you some).

Mashed taters with spicy curry, veggies, and a meat (chicken or tuna), is good too (if you like curry of course).

I love fig newtons too, but don't get the whole wheat ones--I tried them last week and they're dry as sawdust. The packaging is almost identical so be careful.

Lara Bars do better than most bars in the cold. They stay relatively soft.

Walmart's Gorp is not as good as yours, but it's still very good. Cheaper too when you need a lot.

Get good pepperoni, not the presliced orange junk. Eat it with some hard, stinky cheese like an auricchio provalone. The bears will thank you.

I use hammer nutrition religously on long hikes or intense training. The Perpentuem is by far the longest sustained energy I have found. I will use 1 serving at breakfast and another at lunch. I find that my legs will keep going well after my mind has asked for a break. At dinner or right after your done hiking for the day. The people behind the scenes at hammer know what they are doing. Try the tissue rejuvanator to help with your joints. By all means do yourself a favor and check them out.

By the way 20% off until the 19th.

I just perchased $350 from them, heres to a summer of hiking in the Sierra's powered by HAMMER!

bentgate.com carries Hammer products and 20% coupon codes are sometimes posted in Gear Deals. I'm not sure if any are active now though. Free ground shipping after $49. I've had no problems ordering from them.

I've been using Hammer products for several years now. I am fortunate to have them as a sponsor for a Triathlon team I am on. The sustained energy is basically maltodextrin (corn based complex carbohydrate) with a little protein and is unflavored. It is similar to the Sport quest direct product Carbopro which I have used heavily in the past. Currently I have been mixing the sustained energy with muscle milk and a liter of water to get a 528 calorie shake which I drink mostly in the morning. The perpetuem is also very popular but sadly I have used to much and can't tolerate the flavor any more. Because sustained energy is unflavored it can be mixed into anything. It can even be added as a calorie boost to meals.

If only I could find full fat bacon powder...

As far as losing weight goes I will be operating at a calorie deficit. I am lean and need plenty of calories to stay warm. If I wake up cold a couple handfuls of gorp will fix that. I will be covering around 25 miles per day so depending on snow conditions that could be a lot of work. I do not enjoy being constantly hungry.